SBA Provides Relief to Businesses Affected by California Drought

The drought in California may have started long ago, but on January 15, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack declared the California drought to be an agricultural disaster, opening up the doors for the Small Business Administration to start offering Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs).

These new loans will be eligible for nonfarm small businesses and non-profit organizations in selected California counties, including Los Angeles County, Sacramento County, and Santa Clara county, home of Silicon Valley. Agricultural and farming businesses aren’t eligible for these SBA loans and will need to contact other agencies to receive disaster aid.

Tanya N. Garfield, Acting Director of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West, notes, “Eligibility for these loans is based on the financial impact of the disaster only and not on any actual property damage.” So if you’re a small business in California that’s been affected financially by the drought, you may want to consider applying. For small businesses, the loans have an interest rate of 4% and a maximum term of 30 years.